KrazyKuch's & Michika's 180Gal Tank Build

[mark]

Is you big tank going to be all glass or plywood/glass?

[michika]

The prices above are for all glass. We haven't yet priced out plywood. I think it will come down to a cost vs. time deal. Originally we wanted plywood/fiberglass to help save on the cost of the big tank, but with the option of glass being so affordable, we may not even need to look at fiberglass.

[fencer]

GARF.org will give you the plywood calcs

[Delphinus]

13' seems extraordinarily long to me - my worry would be that it will make the the 3' depth feel narrow. Although you should be able to get some neat wave effects in a tank that long. I'm curious - what kind of glass thickness are we talking about here for 13' long? I'm guessing they've stepped it up because otherwise $1000 more for 2 more feet seems a bit disproportional.

11' or 13' - let's face it, either way would be spectacular though!

[michika]

I can barely reach the bottom at 24", any higher and I'll have a problem. Although Kevin does have long arms.....hmm

So are we saying that 4ft deep would be a better choice room constraints aside?

[Delphinus]

If cost and any other issues aside, I would try for 4, yes. But I recognize that when reality kicks in sometimes we have to tailor our expectations, but it doesn't hurt to explore the possibilities in the meantime. Like maybe you could try for 4', then if you found out that was a no-go, but then if maybe you could find out that 3.5' was workable.. why not. 6" is 6" and the more depth you have the more 'scaping possibilities you get.

I'm sort of with you on the 24" length. I like the look of 30" tall tanks but it's a pain to reach in. With my 280 I already have a problem and I even built a catwalk to help in the matter. Oh, the sacrifices we make.. I guess I can live with wet armpit shirts.

You can always make the stand a little higher if the tank seems shallow at 24".

[steve fedyk]

Tunze for water movement is great oppsion. Ocean mosions is good too if you don't have to drill holes in the tank. I would probly buy a second pump for back up, just in case.
What is your plan for lighting.

[Parker]

Originally Posted by michika

I can barely reach the bottom at 24", any higher and I'll have a problem. Although Kevin does have long arms.....hmm

Wet armpits aren't so bad once you get used to them. I deal with wet arm pits now, with the new tank I'll have to deal with a wet upper body!

Originally Posted by michika

So are we saying that 4ft deep would be a better choice room constraints aside?

I vote for more depth, If I could go wider I would in a heart beat.

[michika]

Alright well I finally have amassed enough cardboard to do some trial runs. Sunday, provided I do not get injured in my game on Saturday, I will do a cardboard mock-up of the proposed length and height (13x3) and we'll see how it goes. I'll also mark off what 11ft would be for comparison.

In regards to the 180g its still looking iffy, but its coming back. The cyano is still around, it never really left, even after 3 days of no lights. This cyano can't be beat by depleating the light. It seems the clean up crew did more for combating the cyano then turning off the lights did. Although turning the lights off was definitely worth the attempt.

I was over at Tony's on Tuesday and we saw all my pretty fish and clams. I am so excited to bring everything home again. I need to do some aquascaping sooner rather then later!

[untamed]

Ha..ha..what fun! For me, I like the 11' x 4' suggestion instead of the 13' x 3'. But of course, something like 13' x 6' would be even better! I would trade depth for length anytime until you get to a square tank.

Obviously, I went acrylic...have you considered that? Check with James at Envision and see what he could do. Things might jump sharply in price with panels over 10 feet (I can't remember...) James would build you a tank that won't fail, that's for sure.